US defence secretary Mark Esper breaks with Donald Trump on sending the army to clamp down on protests, and his predecessor James Mattis joins the president’s critics. The FT’s Katrina Manson explains why the rift is so significant. Plus, a study casts doubt on whether taking hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment for Covid-19, and Warner Music scored the biggest US IPO of 2020 on Wednesday.

Companies react to protests, fear of Covid spike, Zoom’s surge

Many companies and chief executives have expressed solidarity with protests over the police killings of George Floyd and other black men and women. The FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains what is different this time round. Plus, public health experts fear the demonstrations will hasten the spread of Covid-19, and Zoom has emerged as one of the biggest corporate winners from the pandemic.

Trump vows to deploy military to US streets

President Donald Trump threatened to send US soldiers on to American streets to tackle the most widespread unrest the country has seen in decades, following the killing of George Floyd by police. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is facing a backlash within Facebook over his stance on controversial posts by the US president related to the protests.

US protestors demonstrate against police violence, EU recovery, US pensions

Protests swept across US cities over the weekend as demonstrators responded to the death of George Floyd, another black man who died by police brutality. The FT’s Claire Bushey and Lauren Fedor explain what has been happening at the local and federal levels. Plus, the European Union budget commissioner is calling on member states to back new taxes to help fund the coronavirus recovery, and how seven US public pension plans risk running out of money by 2028.

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Donald Trump said he had ordered a wide-ranging review of the law that grants social media companies immunity from legal action for content on their platforms, and the UK government has opened a path to citizenship for more than 300,000 Hong Kong residents in response to China's security crackdown. Plus, the FT’s industry editor, Peggy Hollinger, unpacks the turnround that propelled pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca to the industry’s front ranks.

To get free access to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update newsletter for 30 days, visit ft.com/newsbriefingcovid or go to https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=9f398053-342f-c623-b5b3-1506d651696f.